The Decision Process Guide: How
to get things done in Government is discretionary
guidance under the Reclamation
Manual system.

As you go through the decision process steps, take time
to analyze what is happening
and how participants are reacting. Use your kowledge of
the process to categorize what is going on and get to the
next step.

This guidebook provides a series of decision process steps,
tools to use along the way, and important concepts to keep in
mind. You will have to tailor your decision process and approach
to your situation. These concepts provide a framework for other
management tools and decisionmaking models. Select and use what
you need.

This web version uses a hypertext approach so users can find
what they need quickly and easily. We also provide a hard
copy guide, which lays out the process in a more linear fashion.
We suggest using the hard copy as a:

Workbook to plan your process

Personal reference guide

Marked up reference guide to share with your team and participants

To emphasize the overall context and interrelationships in
the decision process, the web version differs in form and content
from the hard copy. The web guide works in conjunction with the
toolbox, a list of decisionmaking tools. We suggest using the
web guide to:

Share specific concepts and steps with the team and participants

Explore the process and discover connections

Get quick answers to questions at particular steps

Uncover an overall view of how the decision process works

The decision process is iterative: You will keep coming back to the same concepts again
and again. Please revisit these spaces to see the information
in a new context. Steps mesh into one another--thus material in
each step links to other steps. Read ahead to understand how one
action builds on the next, but don't jump ahead when you actually
apply it.

Go On

Each page in this site has a "go on section." Clicking
on the blue arrows will get text in a linear order (next,
previous, above, below).

Tours: Each tour is designed
for a different logical approach and role in the process.
You can follow the tours by clicking on the underlined word
below. The tour page provides a detailed itinerary along
the way. Once at a stop, you can scroll to the bottom of
the page and click for the next page or back to the tour
page. Feel free to jump ship and follow other links of interest.

Contents: A quick reference
to all pages. However, we suggest taking a tour or exploring
concepts on your own to get a sense of the overall relationships
amoung concepts and decision process steps.